Isn't that what you do at a YARD sale?

So Saturday morning after the gig, Vicky and I let Kevin sleep in and we headed to an - ahem - "Estate" sale and to Pavilions to pick up a few things for breakfast.

We thought the sale looked promising - there were many cars parked all around and it was early (or at least relatively early, 8:00 a.m.). We hopped out of the car, crossed the street and hunt was on! I quickly gathered a card of vintage buttons, a shoebox with some pieces of mixed flatware (about 40 pieces), a small glass citrus reamer and a foldable yardstick. The shoebox of flatware had a sticker that said $20.00; I thought that was a bit steep and asked the woman running the sale if she would take a bit less. She quickly and abruptly answered 'NO'. Okay. I continued. There wasn't a price on the buttons so I asked about those. As I was considering my purchase, I added everything up and said the amount under my breath 'twenty seven dollars' -- to which she replied "IT'S $27.50". I asked if she would take $25.00 for everything I'd gathered. She looked at me with a cold stare and said "NO!" Ooooooookay. I told her she could keep the whole darn thing! I said to Vicky, isn't that what you do at a YARD sale? Barter? I said it loudly enough for her to hear. ESTATE sale my pitute. It was a bunch of stuff lining the driveway. I've had many a yard sale and called it what it was - a YARD sale.

I should have known even before I asked that she wasn't open to negotiation. Case in point: The sale started Friday morning at 7:00 a.m., so by Saturday morning when we got there, things were mostly picked over. She had several cool vintage hats (think circa 1940's) and a customer asked her how much for the hat? I didn't hear the amount she'd given, but the customer counter-offered another amount. The woman said "NO", to which the customer replied 'Well, this IS a yard sale' as if to remind the woman that you typically barter prices at such a sale. The woman running the sale then replied snarkily 'But the 'VALUE' is still there.' The customer asked if she'd left the items out overnight and the woman said 'Yes'; it was a cool, damp morning with lots of dew and the customer again picked up the limp hat and said 'No value there!' and walked away.

Shoulda known.